Long weekend at the beach

Another trip I took from Quito was to some beaches in Esmeraldas. As Quito is pretty far north within Ecuador, the Quiteños head to different beaches than people from Guayaquil. From Quito, you head straight west to the beaches of Esmeraldas province. I ended up visiting the beaches near Atacames, Sua, and Tonsupa. These are all beach towns just south of the main city of Esmeraldas

(at the seafood market)

I had made friends with a few of the other greeters, through Johanna, with whom I went on the ill-fated trip to Baños. I made sure this trip would involve plenty of relaxation time. They were all leaving early from work for the long weekend, but I couldn't swing that, so I took a bus out there, but was able to get a ride back. One of the greeter’s friends’ families had a timeshare in a beach house, so we stayed there for the weekend. The long weekend consisted of not much more than swimming in the pool by the house, swimming in the beach, drinking beers on the beach, and heading in to the seafood market to bring home a slew of shrimp for ceviche and clams to boil. The pictures should more or less explain how delightful of a weekend it was. 

I really enjoyed my time in Quito. I met a bunch of great people, had a lot of fun, saw some cool things, and got a feel for what working in an Embassy is like versus working in the Consulate. On the whole, not that different, but you do get the sense of more “diplomatic” type work going on-because there is. I was really fortunate that there was the need for me to go up there and work, as It definitely isn’t an opportunity that all consular officers get to have. 

(view from the balcony where I stayed)

(view from another friend’s apartment)

The middle of the world!

So, another fun trip I took when I was in Quito was originally meant to be to Otavalo. It’s famous for its indigenous goods market. I eventually made it there in July. But, super hungover from a night at the discoteca, I met up with Maria Augusta-Magus, one Sunday morning when I was in Quito. We never made it to Otavalo, because on our way there, the main highway was closed for a bike race. So we had to take a detour. We eventually made it a our breakfast spot, (which was delicious!) and then after breakfast, got stuck behind the cyclists that had detoured us earlier. Eventually we realized we’d never make it, so made the best of it and ended up deciding to go to the Mitad del Mundo. 

(fresh cheese, part of the delicious breakfast at Cafe de la Vaca)

The Mitad del Mundo (middle of the world) is a whole built up monument marking the equator. Obviously the center of the world is anywhere on the equator, but this point is conveniently located just on the edge of Quito, so they built a big monument there. It also is the place where some scientists back in the day measured the equator in the 1800s. Some people get all upset because it isn’t exactly lined up with the equator all the year (because of the earth’s rotation, the big yellow line is only right for some part of the year), but I’m not especially worried about. It’s a lot closer to the equator than Des Moines, so I will definitely take my picture with one leg in the southern hemisphere and another in the northern. 

Museo Guayasamín

One of the coolest thing I did when I was in Quito was visiting the Museo Guayasamín. Oswaldo Guayasamín (1919-1999) was a Quito native and one of Ecuador’s most famous artists of all time, and probably the most well-known of the past century. He was of mixed and indigenous descent, and is well known for addressing racism, especially the conflicts between whites, mestizos, and indigenous people in Latin America, in his paintings. Towards the end of his life, he built a huge ‘Chapel for Humanity’ on the land near his home (tucked away in a quiet neighborhood in the hills surrounding Quito) and filled it with murals and paintings. He never finished the entire structure and its paintings, and the ceiling remains only partially completed. Some of his paintings are polemic and political, but others are more personal. I visited the Museum with Johanna-the same Embassy worker who I went on the fateful trip to Baños with-and her sister. We had a great visit, despite some fog and rain-only a bit of the museum is outside. You can also visit his home, which is filled with his private collection upstairs in the living area, and a huge collection of his art the former garage and his former studio. Below are a few pictures I took (without a flash) from the museum.

(part of a series of portraits of the ‘Faces of America’  or something similar)

(a self portrait)

(Jesus’ body being attended to by an indigenous, mestizo, and white/European women)